The Tory party is starting to fall apart before our eyes – no wonder Starmer’s starting to believe in himself

Labour MPs could feel the warm tide of power flowing in their direction at Prime Minister’s Questions, writes John Rentoul – as Sunak experienced the most uncomfortable half-hour of his 17 months as prime minister

John Rentoul: ‘After the Scottish party opposed the government’s extension of the windfall tax on oil and gas in the Budget last week, nothing could more dramatically illustrate a party falling apart’ (PA)

Lee Anderson, a recent deputy chair of the Conservative Party, took his seat on the back row of the opposition benches, next to George Galloway. That is why the expression “crossing the floor” has its power: it is a visual clue to the balance of advantage in the House of Commons.

The balance tilted against Rishi Sunak a bit further today. It was never going to be easy to explain why the Tories should keep the £10m donated by Frank Hester, and the prime minister did the best he could. That involved saying that what Hester said – or “allegedly” said, as Sunak carefully phrased it – was “racist and wrong” but that he had apologised and his “remorse should be accepted”.

There was no chance of Hester’s rather unconvincing remorse being accepted in the unforgiving trading floor of the Commons. Keir Starmer threw it back in Sunak’s face, but before he did he paid tribute to one of Sunak’s predecessors, Theresa May, sitting just behind him. Last week she announced she would be standing down at the election, which gave Starmer the chance for bipartisan graciousness. As Sunak had failed to thank her for her service, Starmer’s chivalry subtly divided the Tories, and implied that her sense of “duty” might have prompted her to hand back Hester’s money.